Apparatus for forming stator rings



Aug. 7, 1956 M. SMITH 2,757,438

APPARATUS FOR FORMINGSTATOR RINGS' Filed Dec. 8, 1951 2 Sheets-Sheet l INVENTOR MATTHEW SMITH A from/Er 1mg. 7, 1956 SMITH APPARATUS FOR FORMING STATOR RINGS 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed Dec. 8, 1951 mm l NW. E V mm m u M L ATTORNEY United States Patent 2,757,438 APPARATUS FoR FORMING STATOR RINGS Matthew Smith, Smith Goventry, 'Conn., assignor to United Aircraft Corporation, East Hartford, Comm, a corporation of Delaware Application December 8, 1951, Serial No. 260,660

8 Claims. (Cl. 29-435) This invention relates to a method and apparatus for inserting a row of stationary vanes in a shroud ring to form a stator ring or a portion of a stator ring for use in an axial flow compressor or turbine.

In the mounting of the vanes in the surrounding and supporting ring it has been the practice to punch in the ring a row of vane shaped openings properly spaced apart so that the vanes may thereafter be inserted in the shroud ring and supported in position therein. When the openings in the ring are pre-punched it becomes necessary to make the punch element large enough to accommodate the largest dimensioned vane (allowing for tolerances) and also to provide clearance enough so that the vane may be readily inserted manually into the shroud. The result is that the shroud ring does not fit the vane tightly and the inner ends of the row of vanes are subject to a slight axial movement under the pressure loads existing during operation of the compressor or turbine. Furthermore, it becomes necessary in the design of the device to allow room for this axial movement to take place thereby necessitating a somewhat larger compressor or turbine than would otherwise be necessary.

The copending application of Hasbrouck and Shinn, Serial No. 212,974 filed February 27, 1951, discloses a shroud ring of box construction in cross section in which the vanes are punched through one of the shroud rings and subsequently, in a separate operation, punched through the other ring. One feature of the present invention is a machine for producing a vane punched shroud. Another feature is a machine for automatically and successively punching a row of vanes into the shroud with the proper spacing between the vanes and with the vanes properly positioned radially of the shroud ring.

In the construction disclosed in the Hasbrouck & Shinn application, above mentioned, the vane projects beyond the outer surface of the shroud ring. A feature of this invention is the arrangement for withdrawing the shroud ring and the projecting vane end from the die used in forming the device to make possible the angular indexing of the shroud ring for the insertion of successive vanes. Another feature is a method for producing the vane punched shrouds.

Other objects and advantages will be apparent from the specification and claims, and from the accompanying drawings which illustrate an embodiment of the invention.

Fig. 1 is a perspective view of a punch press adapted for producing the vane punched shroud.

Fig. 2 is a fragmentary view on a somewhat larger scale to show the cooperation between the vane and the die.

Fig. 3 is a sectional view through the shroud ring and 2,757,438 Patented Aug. 7, 1956 ,ment normally carries the punch which cooperates with a die carried by a table 12 which is generally vertically adjustable by a mechanism not shown but which so far as the present invention is concerned may be in a fixed relation on the machine.

The head 4, for the purpose of the present invention, carries an auxiliary projecting pin 14 on which a ring 16 is mounted for rotation, being locked selectively in either of two positions at from each other by a slidable pin 18 which cooperates in the usual manner with locating openings (not shown) in the head of the .machine.

The ring 16 carries at least one vane holding chuck 20 and preferably a second similar chuck 22 opposite to the first chuck. These chucks are duplicates and only one will be described in detail. The chuck 20 is somewhat larger than the vane 24 which is to be punched through the shroud and the chuck has an opening 26 therein corresponding almost exactly to the shape of the vane but sutficiently larger in dimension to permit the vane to be inserted and withdrawn from the opening without binding. The vane when inserted in the chuck is retained therein by a flat spring 28 positioned in a recess 29 in one side wall of the opening 26. For the purpose of positioning the spring in place the die may be made up of two separate halves secured together as shown in Fig. 4.

The chuck supports the vane 24 in radial alignment with a die 30 mounted in a block 32 suitably attached to a die support 34. The die has an opening 36 therein corresponding in shape to the cross section of the end of the vane and functions to support the shroud during the time that the vane is being punched through it. For additional accuracy in positioning the vane: and die during the punching operation, a guide lock 38 mounted on the block 32 adjacent to the die has a recess 40* which receives one lateral edge of the chuck 20 and guides its vertical movement toward the die. Another intersecting notch 42 may also be provided to receive a guide bar 44 attached to and projecting from one side surface of the chuck.

The die support 34 is supported on the table 12 and is rigidly connected thereto in such a position that when the reciprocating head 4 reaches its lowermost position the vane projecting from the chuck 20 will project into the opening 36 in the die the same distance that the vane is intended to project beyond the outer surface of the shroud and ring. The die support 34 has vertical guide ways 46 and 48 which support for vertical movement a slide 50 having an arcuate guide way 52 therein to receive a guide ring 54 to which the shroud ring 56 is suitably secured.

The guide ring 54 has a row of gear teeth 58 thereon in a position to be engaged by a sprocket 60, Fig. 5, carried on a shaft 61 journalled in the slide 50. The shaft 61 has another gear 62 meshing with a gear 63 on a shaft 64, which is provided at its forward end with a crank 65 by which the sprocket may be turned. The

neath the slide and engaging the table 12. The slide has;

depending pins 75 projecting through openings 76 in the die support 34 and engaging with the springs. The springs hold the slide 50 in such a position that the guide ring 54 with the shroud ring and projecting vanes may be turned without having the ends of the vanes interfere with the die' The springs therefore function as a means for retracting the vane end from the die after each punching operation.

It is desirable to have the shroud rings lying directly on the die for the punching operation. In order to accomplish this the slide 50 has a row of coil springs 76 projecting upwardly from the slide and in a position to be engaged by the head 4 before the end of the vane engages with the shroud. These springs 76 are more numerous than, or are heavier than, the springs 74 so that, as the slide moves downward, the slide supporting springs 74 will be compressed first to bring the shroud down into engagement with the die before the springs 76 are compressed. Upon continued downward movement of the head 4 the springs 76 will compress and allow the vane to be punched through the shroud. Upon upward or return movement of the head the vane is held more tightly by the shroud than it is by the chuck 20 and the chuck is pulled away from the vane leaving it in its inserted position in the shroud.

The shroud ring 56 is held releasably in the guide ring 54 by a tapered clamping ring 80 which fits in a correspondingly shaped slot 82 in the guide ring 54. The clamping ring is pulled into the slot by bolts 84 to hold the shroud ring securely against a shoulder 86 provided by the guide ring.

The guide ring being placed in position with the shroud ring thereon, a vane is inserted in the downwardly extending vane holding chuck 20 in the position of the parts as shown in Fig. 2. The punch press is then set in operation to go through one punching cycle. As the head 4 moves down it engages with the springs 76. As above stated these springs 76 do not compress until the springs 74 have allowed the slide 50 to move down with the shroud ring until the latter rests upon the top of the die 30. The downward movement of the slide 50 is then discontinued and further downward movement of the head 4 carries the vane through the imperforate shroud with the end projecting into the opening 36 in the die. The head 4 is then retracted leaving the vane in position within the shroud and withdrawing the chuck 20 from the vane. The punched out portion of the shroud is discharged downwardly through the die 30, in a well known manner as shown, for example, in Wales 2,593,506.

As the head 4 moves up, the springs 74 return the slide 50 to its upper position in which the shroud ring is spaced from the top of the die 39. The machine operator may then turn the shroud ring angularly after withdrawing the pin 68 until th next opening 70 is in alignment with the pin 68 thereby properly locating the shroud for insertion of the next vane.

During the downward movement of the head 4 the operator may place a vane in the chuck 22 in readiness for the next punching operation in which event the operator indexes the chuck carrying ring 16 through 180 between successive punching operations.

Although the device has been described in connection with the punching of the vanes through a single shroud ring it will be understood that the same arrangement of parts can be used for punching the vane through an outer shroud ring slightly larger in diameter than the ring 56. In this event, however, the chuck will not be loaded with a new vane each time but will be positioned so that dur ing the downward movement of the head 4 the chuck will fit over the already positioned vane and will force the vane through the outer shroud ring.

It is to be understood that the invention is not limited to the specific embodiment herein illustrated and described, but may be used in other ways without departure from its spirit as defined by the following claims.

I claim:

1. In a machine for assembling a number of radially extending elements in a ring with the ends of each of the elements projecting through the ring, a clamping means for releasably receiving each of the elements successively, means for reciprocating said clamping means, a die to ward and away from which the clamping means reciprocates, said die having an opening therein corresponding substantially to the shape of the end of the element, and adapted to receive the end of the element as it is inserted by the motion of the clamping means toward the die, means for supporting the ring with a portion thereof between the clamping means and the die, said means being movable in a direction parallel to the movement of the clamping means for moving the ring against the die or retracting it therefrom, the retracting motion providing for withdrawal of the projecting end of the inserted element from the die, and an indexing means for turning the ring angularly while the latter is retracted from contact with the die.

2. In a machine for assembling a number of radially extending elements in a ring with the ends of each of the elements projecting through the ring, a clamping means for releasably receiving each of the elements successively, means for reciprocating said clamping means, a die to- Ward and away from which the clamping means reciprocates, said die having an opening therein corresponding substantially to the shape of the end of the element, and adapted to receive the end of the element as it is inserted by the motion of the clamping means toward the die, means for supporting th ring with a portion thereof between the clamping means and the die, said means being movable in a direction parallel to the movement of the clamping means for moving the ring against the die or retracting it therefrom, the retracting motion providing for withdrawal of the projecting end of the inserted element from the die, and an indexing means for turning the ring angularly while the latter is retracted from contact with the die, said clamping means being arranged to releasably hold the element such that the latter will stay in the ring during its withdrawal movement away from the die.

3. In a machine for assembling a number of radially extending elements in a ring with the ends of each of the elements projecting through the ring, a clamping means for releasably receiving each of the elements successively, means for reciprocating said clamping means, a die toward and away from which the clamping means reciprocates, said die having an opening therein corresponding substantially to the shape of the end of the element, and adapted to receive the end of the element as it is in serted by the motion of the clamping means toward the die, means for supporting the ring with a portion thereof between the clamping means and the die, said means being movable in a direction parallel to the movement of the clamping means for moving the ring against the die or retracting it therefrom, the retracting motion providing for Withdrawal of the projecting end of the inserted element from the die, and an indexing means for turning the ring angularly while the latter is retracted from contact with the die, the movement of thering supporting means being responsive to the reciprocatory movement of the clamping means.

4. A device for assembling a row of vanes in a supporting shroud including clamping means for a vane, a die with which said vane cooperates, means for supporting a ring in a position overlying the die, means associated with the ring to provide for indexing it with respect to said die, means for causing relative reciprocating movement of said clamping means with respect to said die in a direction substantially parallel to the vane for punching the end of said vane through said ring and into said die, and means for separating said ring and said die in a direction parallel to the vane movement for withdrawing the vane end from the die, said clamping means being constructed to release the vane after the latter is punched through the ring and upon relative movement of the die and clamping means away from each other.

5. A device for assembling a row of vanes in a supporting shroud including releasable clamping means for a vane, a die with which said vane cooperates, means for supporting a ring in a position overlying the die, means associated with the ring to provide for indexing it with respect to said die, means for causing relative reciprocating movement of said clamping means with respect to said die in a direction substantially parallel to the vane for punching the end of said vane through said ring and into said die and for withdrawing the clamping means from the die after the punching movement, and means for separating said ring and said die in a direction parallel to the vane movement for withdrawing the vane end from the die, said indexing means being operative when the ring and die are spaced apart, said clamping means being constructed to release the vane after the latter is punched through the ring and upon relative movement of the die and clamping means away from each other.

6. A device for assembling a row of vanes in a supporting shroud including releasable clamping means for a vane, a die with which said vane cooperates, means for supporting a ring in a position overlying the die, means associated with the ring to provide for indexing it with respect to said die, means for moving said clamping means toward and away from said die in a direction substantially parallel to the vane for punching the end of said vane through said ring and for withdrawing the clamping means from said vane after the punching operation, and means responsive to said last means for moving said ring into engagement with said die prior to the punching operation and for withdrawing the ring from said die when the punching operation is completed, said clamping means being constructed to release the vane after the latter is punched through the ring and upon relativ movement of the die and clamping means away from each other.

7. A device for assembling a row of vanes in a supporting shroud including releasable clamping means for a vane, a die with which said vane cooperates, means for supporting a ring in a position overlying the die, means associated with the ring to provide for indexing it with respect to said die, means for moving said clamping means toward and away from said die in a direction substantially parallel to the vane for punching the end of said vane through said ring and for withdrawing the clamping means from said vane after the punching operation, and means responsive to said last means for moving said ring into engagement with said die prior to the punching operation and for withdrawing the ring from said die when the punching operation is completed, said indexing means being operative when the ring and die are spaced apart, said clamping means being constructed to release the vane after the latter is punched through the ring and upon relative movement of the die and clamping means away from each other.

8. A device for assembling a row of vanes in a supporting shroud ring including clamping means for releasably gripping a vane, a die with which said vane cooperates having an opening which conforms substantially to the end shape of the vane in said clamping means, means for supporting a shroud ring in position between said die and the vane in said clamping means, means associated with said ring for indexing it with respect to said die, means for effecting relative movement between said clamping means and said die in a direction to punch the end of said vane through said ring and into said die opening, means for effecting relative movement between said die and ring for withdrawing the vane end from said die opening, and means for eifecting relative movement between said clamping means and said vane for separating said clamping means and vane with one end of the latter held in said ring.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 504,187 Zimmerman et al. Aug. 29, 1893 513,655 Schoen Jan. 30, 1894 636,654 Fox Nov. 7, 1899 1,087,092 Stingle Feb. 10, 1914 2,120,711 Phillips June 14, 1938 2,448,825 Price et al. Sept. 7, 1948 2,593,506 Wales Apr. 22, 1952 

